


Angel

by orphan_account



Category: Borderlands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:04:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6278203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The biggest responsibility Jack ever had was keeping the bandits at bay. He never thought he'd soon be taking on something more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Angel

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I wrote a couple of months back and thought I'd share with the community. It's not meant to be much, but it's the only thing I've been proud of writing in a while. I hope to post more on this account soon.

Having to care for his daughter only terrified him. Whether it had been from incapability or self-doubt, he’d been struck with fear by the thought of it. There was no choice left for him; knowing that he was the last person left to care for her, and the last remaining family member. He wouldn’t have wished for her to be alone. Not like he was. 

Even so, she meant too much already to abandon.

Taking her into his own arms, with a shaken yet loving embrace, he held his daughter for the first time. Her eyes remained closed as he lay her head against his shoulder. 

For the first time in his life, he was truly scared.

But he knew he couldn’t leave someone so enchanting, no matter how scared he may have been. From that moment, he knew she’d become his everything. Her petite and fragile body was no bigger than both of his own hands. She was small, yet soft and warm, and gave him comfort just when he needed it. Her timing couldn’t have been more perfect; arriving just when she was needed. 

A guardian angel had been sent to look after him. It was crazy, he thought, but she was keeping him sane when he thought his mind was about to crumble. One day, when she finally understood, she would love him in return when no one else was there to. She may not have known it yet, but she was going to love him as much as he loved her in that very moment. He had to protect her.

She was special, just like his wife was.

His Angel.

Nuzzling against her head, he hummed softly. His hands cradled her body against his chest, and he could feel her heart beating in time with each tiny breath she took. It was almost perfectly in time with his own.

It grounded him back to reality. She made him feel alive, and he clung onto that feeling for as long as he could. That was something he knew he would never forget.

Jack longed for his wife. Her passing had only been hours prior, and already he’d taken the responsibility of protecting their daughter with his own life, knowing that’s what his wife would have wanted. Time couldn’t be spent mourning for her, which was something he’d now managed to come to terms with. He needed his energy for Angel.

With his daughter still in his arms, he tried to get comfortable in the reclining chair he’d sat down on.

Tonight he’d stay with Angel. Even if it meant losing sleep - which he knew he likely wouldn’t have had anyway - he was going to stay in that room. 

The truth was that he didn’t want to leave his wife behind. 

In comparison, taking on the responsibility of Angel was simple. Letting go of his wife was the hard part.

Jack wasn’t someone to believe in the paranormal, but on that occasion, he did. Or so he tried. He knew she was with him in spirit, or something like that, he thought. She hadn’t left without giving Angel to him first, and he couldn’t rid the thought of her spirit remaining in their daughter. She was still alive inside his daughter, and still alive in that room. He could feel her, from the shiver running down his spine to the warmth that flooded his heart. It wasn’t natural. 

The sleeping Angel seemed to radiate life. She was motionless, but still so full of life. Jack worried as she began to stir from her sleep. Shifting her from his hands to being cradled in his arms, he watched over her with tired eyes. He heard the squeak of her little voice, and panicked when he thought she was about to cry. Instead, she opened her eyes. Weary blue eyes gazed back at him.

The world around him fell silent.

“Hey there, Angel…” he whispered to her, finally working up a smile for the first time that day.

He continued to sit through the silence as he smiled warmly at her. It was unbelievable to him that someone so small could make his mind seem so clear. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Nothing but his little Angel.

Her eyes widened, and glistened even when under the dulled light. Jack couldn’t help but fall in love with her eyes. They could have held a whole universe in there, or hidden the most amazing secrets of the world behind them, or made anyone fall in love with her. Her eyes were special, just like her. Everything about her was magical to him.

As he rested his own head softly against hers, he could only let out a contempt sigh. 

“I'll always be here… just remember that, alright?” He whispered. He wasn’t one with words, but he tried; for her.


End file.
